NEWS: Palestinian officials say they won't yield to Israeli “extortion” regarding Palestinian tax revenues. Four men accused of a sensational “honor killing” that has scandalized the West Bank deny the charges. Palestinians accuse Israeli settlers of abducting a shepherd. Palestinian officials say Israel must abide by its commitments to a settlement freeze before talks can resume. Israeli artists say it's ridiculous for the government to offer a prize for “Zionism” in the arts. In the next phase of the prisoner swap, Israel may seek to boost Fatah instead of Hamas. The International Organization of Parliaments says the PA is a welcome member, but Hamas cannot join. Israel is planning to forcibly evict thousands of Bedouins from their homes to near a rubbish dump to make way for settlers. A hard-line Israeli MK heaps praise on the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Israeli occupation forces demolish two Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem. COMMENTARY: Roger Cohen says there's a lot more for Jewish Americans to be outraged at in Israeli policy than ads warning against life in the United States. Ha'aretz says human rights are in danger in Israel. Khaled Diab says PM Netanyahu and Pres. Ahmadinejad are "gifts to each other but curses on their nations.” Caroline Glick says "under Obama, the US is no longer Israel’s ally." Elliot Jager reviews a new book about the “Stern Gang” Jewish terrorist organization during the British mandate. Gal Beckerman looks at a new book by Pres. Peres about David Ben-Gurion. Linda Heard says US criticism is good for Israel. Yossi Alpher says Palestinian financial vulnerability does not compromise their claims for independence. Ghassan Khatib says Palestinians have faced worse financial crises in the past, but the political impasse and stagnation is crippling. David Brodet says the recent financial crisis has shown how vulnerable the PA is economically to Israel and donor nations.

Israel demolishes 2 homes in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 6, 2011 - 1:00am


Israeli forces demolished two Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, locals said. In Beit Hanina, troops bulldozed the temporary residence of a man who took shelter there after he could not get a permit from the Israeli municipality to build his house, the official PA news agency Wafa reported. In Silwan, Israeli forces tore down the house of Burhan Burqan, that was home to nine people. "Israeli troops came at five in the morning to demolish the house and were done by 7 am. They also demolished our barn that had some poultry in it," Burqan said.


Israeli lawmaker says McCarthy was right
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
December 5, 2011 - 1:00am


The Israeli lawmaker who sponsored a bill to limit funding to left-leaning NGOs said Joseph McCarthy “was right in every word he said.” Likud lawmaker Ofir Akunis told a political television show Sunday night that McCarthy, the Wisconsin senator who presided over a U.S. Senate committee in the 1950s that investigated Americans suspected of sympathy with the communists, "was right in every word. The fact is, there were Soviet agents."


Israel to forcibly remove bedouin communities in settlements push
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - December 6, 2011 - 1:00am


Around 20 bedouin communities between Jerusalem and Jericho are to be forcibly relocated from the land on which they have lived for 60 years under an Israeli plan to expand a huge Jewish settlement. The removal of around 2,300 members of the bedouin Jahalin tribe, two-thirds of whom are children, is due to begin next month. The Israeli authorities plan to relocate the families from the West Bank to a site close to a municipal rubbish dump on the edge of Jerusalem.


Hamas barred from international political group
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Lahav Harkov - December 6, 2011 - 1:00am


Hamas members will not be allowed to represent the Palestinian Authority in the International Organization of Parliaments (IPU), the group’s secretary-general, Andres B. Johnsson, told Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin on Sunday. “Fatah is a recognized political movement, but Hamas is a terrorist organization. The PA must choose a side. Hamas is trying to use the IPU to pave its way to international recognition,” Rivlin told Johnsson.


Israel to reward Abbas in phase 2 of Shalit deal?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Elior Levy - December 6, 2011 - 1:00am


The second phase of the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap, which will see the release of another 550 prisoners, will be completed in the next two weeks, with Israel seeking to use the occasion to boost Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' status. Sources familiar with the issue told Ynet that officials in Jerusalem are seeking to link the upcoming prisoner release to a previous Israeli pledge to Abbas, whereby Israel will release Fatah detainees rather than Hamas prisoners.


Artists call to scrap ministry prize for 'Zionist' works
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Elad Samorzik - December 6, 2011 - 1:00am


Hundreds of dancers, authors, filmmakers and other artists have signed a petition calling to cancel the NIS 50,000 prize initiated by Culture Minister Limor Livnat intended to "reflect Zionist values and history" and give the prize money to "the meager coffer supporting free artistic work in Israel." The artists say a prize in the Zionism field is controversial, as its criteria do not pertain solely to artistic quality.


No peace talks with Israel without settlement freeze: Palestinian official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
December 6, 2011 - 1:00am


There would be no peace negotiations with Israel without a settlement freeze and a two- state solution, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Tuesday. "These are not Palestinian conditions, they are Israeli Phase I Roadmap obligations," Erekat said during a meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman. "The Palestinian bid to get a full membership at the United Nations would continue," said Erekat, quoted by a statement issued by his office..


PA: Settlers kidnap shepherd near Nablus
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 6, 2011 - 1:00am


Israeli settlers on Monday kidnapped a 60-year-old shepherd after attacking him in Orif village south of Nablus, officials said. Village council head Fawzi Shehadeh said six residents of Yitzhar settlement attacked Salim Jamil Shehadeh near the local high school and took him away in a car. The settlers stole all 50 of his sheep, the councilor added. Palestinian Authority settlement affairs official Ghassan Doughlas told Ma'an the government was conducting intensive negotiations with Israeli officials to secure the shepherd's release.


Suspects in 'honor' killing deny charges
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 6, 2011 - 1:00am


Four men accused of the honor killing of 20-year-old Ayah Ibrahim Baradiyya, whose remains were found in May 2011, told a jury on Monday that their confession was obtained through torture. The four men, an uncle and three other relatives of the victim, were attending the first court hearing in the murder trial of the young student who went missing in April 2010. “I am guiltless and I have nothing to do with this charge which I denounce. What happened was that detectives tortured me and broke my jaw to make me confess," the victim's uncle said in court.



American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017